But that hasn’t stopped a group of Aussie mums from takings things into their own hands with a DIY fireplace.
The popularity of the new Christmas craft is evident in various Facebook mum groups, where all manner of faux fireplaces have been discussed and shared.
April Hennessy is a Gold Coast mum who created a fake Christmas fireplace this year for her four-year-old son.
“I decided to create the fireplace so my son would no longer worry about Santa missing our house on Christmas Eve,” she said.
April made her impressive fireplace using two large cardboard boxes taped together.
“Originally I was going to paint the bricks myself but I came across some amazing brick-look contact at Bunnings," she explained.
"The size of the bricks on the contact was perfect for the size of the fireplace and gave it a realistic feel."
To give it a realistic stone look, April sprayed it with Rust-oleum American Accents Stone textured-finish.
"I used a whole can on the base in multiple coats, allowing drying time between," she said.
April’s partner built the top of the fireplace out of a beautiful wood-look aluminium panel.
"I also created a fire guard for the front which was just made out of cardboard that was painted black, then cut and folded to size."
She added two special flame-flickering LED globes as the "magic" finishing touch.
“The family absolutely loves it," she said.
"They are very proud of what I’ve created. My mum has been sharing my posts on Facebook and I have posted it in a few Facebook Christmas and Kmart groups and the reaction has been absolutely amazing.”
"When Christmas is over we will be putting it into a safe storage for future Christmases ... although I wouldn’t mind keeping it up all year!" she said.
